Mahanagar

Through 'Mahanagar' the great Satyajit Ray tells a story of an ordinary traditional family living in the modern big city (hence the title). However, the breadwinner of the family does not earn enough money to support the whole family. The wife decides to support him by working herself. Fortunately she finds a job and befriends a modern Anglo-Indian co-worker who does influence her by applying lip-stick and giving her a pair of sunglasses. The father of the family is a retired teacher and he does not accept the fact that his daughter-in-law is working. Gradually, the rest of the family disapprove her working. The retired teacher visits his former student and 'asks' for financial help.

Through this wonderful family drama, Ray tells us a story of the clash between modern and traditional values in a middle-class family struggling to make a living in the big city. Furthermore, Ray examines the 'urban' relationships as is reflected between the employer and employee, the husband and wife, the co-workers, the working mother and her child and so on. It is no surprise that Ray is THE most accomplished director of Indian cinema. This film, like pretty much everything else he did, only reminds us why.

The performances are top-notch. Again, this is no surprise as Ray manages to extract the best from his actors. Madhabi Mukherjee is breathtaking as we see her transform from a naive housewife, to a determined and excited employee to a strong courageous woman who stands up for her friend. Anil Chatterjee is excellent as the struggling husband who tries to make ends meet, silently accepts his wife's working but secretly resenting it. Vicky Redwood adds freshness with a strong presence and a likable performance. Haradhan Bannerjee is very good as the prejudiced but sympathetic boss. Jaya Bhadhuri delivers a very natural performance. The rest of the cast are all just as competent.

The ending isn't the traditional happy ending one witnesses in the numerous Indian films but it's one of optimism and hope that beautifully 'seals' the film. 'Mahanagar' is a fantastic example of the best of Indian cinema. A classic gem it is.

I loved this film. Madhabi Mukherjee is gorgeous and so engaging, with the virtuosic ability to represent the stresses of a changing Calcutta through a simple glance. Mahanagar is a fascinating dramatic case study of the collision of modernism and traditionalism that produced a sociocultural duality/dichotomy in twentieth-century India's urban landscapes.

We see all sorts of manifestations of duality in Mahanagar. The tension-cum-rivalry of Arati and Subrata is, of course, the most obvious manifestation. However, we also have the duality of the new- generation Arati/Subrata and the old-generation Sarojini/Priyogopal (Subrata's mother and father) and Arati, who wears traditional clothing and speaks Bengali, versus Edith, the English-speaking Anglo-Indian in Western dress. These instances of duality speak directly to the moment in which things began to make a 180-degree shift in India, when women became the breadwinners of the household and traditional gender norms became subsumed by sexual liberation.

With a leading lady as precise as Mukherjee, Ray was able wrap these complex coterminous processes up in a relatively tidy package. Mahanagar is essential viewing.

Mahangar captures the middle class culture of post-independence Calcutta effectively. The movie shows the emotional crisis of a family caught between family tradition and increasing expenses. The husband-wife relationship starts unraveling under the stress of brand new corporate identity and financial comfort the wife discovers. Its interesting how the other family members come to terms and make peace with the changed dynamics when they see their own gratification with the higher salary. Ray has done an exceptional job in uplifting the role of the Indian wife and depicting an almost perfect superwoman character – rising to the occasion and being the pillar of support at home and at work. Throughout these changes in lifestyle, she continues to rely upon her husband for moral support. The ending is well scripted – in their current dire situation, the couple finds mutual confidence and solace to continue the struggle and dream.

If, at some point in the future, Pather Panchali cannot fulfil its duties as Satyajit Ray's masterpiece, Mahanagar can step up and fill in the position. Or perhaps the two films can co-rule, as they compliment each other so nicely. Pather Panchali is the simple, straightforward masterpiece and Mahanagar is the more ambitious and complex work. The first is Ray's La Strada and the second his La Dolce Vita.

The Big City is a subtle, flowing work about a young housewife (Madhabi Mukherjee, who would also star in Ray's Charulata) in a middle-class family who finds a job when her father-in-law needs a new pair of spectacles. The family is very conservative, and this upsets everyone. Her husband's manhood is somewhat insulted, her father- and mother-in-law (who both live with the married couple in a rather small apartment) feel that it's just not right, and her son thinks he's been forgotten. The only one who supports her is her younger sister-in-law; she sees her as a role model. The husband (Anil Chatterjee) tries to get her to quit, but, when he loses his own job, he changes his mind quickly. Now she becomes the breadwinner, and he is effectively castrated.

This could have been a little, humble film, like many of Ray's works. But here he decides to examine a huge portion of his own culture, setting up many opposites and studying them closely. We have the husband and wife, man and woman, old-world conservatism and new-world progression, young and old, employer and employee. The list goes on. The depth of this film is nearly endless, and I'm sure it would hold up to any number of repeated viewings. The only flaw that I can see is a somewhat contrived climax - Ray had this problem in a few of his films.

I do have to give special praise to the two leads. Mukherjee and Chatterjee are just brilliant in the film. The supporting cast is also uniformly excellent.

Arati is a young middle-class housewife. The household includes Arati, her husband Subrata, who works as a bank clerk, their children and his elderly parents. Subrata is unable to support the entire family with his salary, and after a great deal of indecision, the couple decide that Arati must find a job. And she does so, much to the displeasure of his parents, who react with shame and anger when they find out that their daughter in-law has turned from a housewife into a working woman against tradition.

The story follows Arati's acclimation with her job as a sales woman, her growing independence, and her new relationships with people from different social and financial classes, one example being a young Anglo-Indian colleague named Edith whom she befriends. The real conflict, however, does not happen when Arati's in-laws start a silent "cold war", but when her husband himself loses his own job and Arati becomes the sole breadwinner of the family. Subrata loses self-respect and is filled with negative feelings of inferiority and shame.

This is the story of Satyajit Ray's extraordinary classic 'Mahanagar', a poignant, quiet and moving picture which depicts a whole world of conflicts resulting from modernisation and changing social and generational norms. Ray's portrayal of the urban India, its lifestyle and people, is brilliantly done. Everything about the film is, as expected, very authentic, very real and very easily identifiable with Ray's style of film-making. He makes the proceedings and the characters very interesting and very easy to relate to.

The film deals with the struggle of middle-class families to survive in the big city through their everyday hardships, but in the process, shows the gender role conflicts and criticises the hypocrisy of traditional conservativeness. One such instance is shown when Arati's father-in-law, a retired teacher who had complained that he was in need of a new pair of spectacles, now prefers going and begging from his former student rather than accepting money from his working daughter-in-law who 'breaks tradition'.

The relationships in Mahanagar are perfectly portrayed, whether it's Arati's relationship with her husband, with her kid, with her in-laws, with her employer. But the best thing about it is the portrayal of Arati's acquaintance with her new self. Her job provides her with confidence and self-belief as she grows increasingly independent, both socially and economically. Mainly due to her friendship with the Anglo-Indian Edith, who she would later stand up for, Arati learns to use lipsticks, wear dark fashionable glasses, speak more assertively and stand up against injustice, while still maintaining her individuality as a simple, unselfish woman.

Madhabi Mukherjee is astonishing as Arati. She is a natural beauty, and acts with grace and dignity. She convincingly transforms from a simple housewife into a modern and smart woman of substance, always letting the viewer sense her struggle, confusion and pain. Anil Chatterjee is great as the slightly embittered yet loving husband. Jaya Bhaduri is completely lovable and charming in her debut role. Prasenjit Sarkar is cute as a button as Pintu. Vicky Redwood is quite nice though her line delivery is often weak. Haradhan Bannerjee is very sympathetic as Arati's boss though his character is slightly prejudiced.

Mahanagar is another example of Ray's indelible craftsmanship, of his superb storytelling and his exceptional ability to tell a universal story which is both moving and educative in a simple yet very effective way. The film's pace may be a bit slow, but it is steady enough, and the picture remains thoroughly and consistently engaging and captivating. The ending is bittersweet - sad yet optimistic, satisfying and inspiring. Mahanagar is overall a beautiful social drama; a classic and fascinating piece which is highly recommended.